ASHDOWN (AP) — Little River County Sheriff-elect Gary Gregory said he has not fired any deputies but hired personnel he has “confidence in being true and faithful to the citizens.”

Gregory will have a new staff Jan. 1 after deciding to not rehire seven deputies, a transport deputy and the chief dispatcher.

Gregory submitted a four-page statement to the Texarkana Gazette on Thursday in response to comments by Sheriff Danny Russell.

Russell chose not to seek re-election.

Gregory confirmed by telephone he prepared the four-page statement.

“The personnel chosen will be up to the tasks at hand and support the mission of providing to the citizens of Little River County with the best law enforcement and customer relations services based off of quality, dedication, fairness and good ethics and integrity,” Gregory wrote.

The current staff at the Sheriff’s Office was asked to reapply for their jobs in the new administration. The applications were reviewed by Little River County Employment Review Board. Those not rehired were informed of the board’s decision last week.

“Applicants within the current employ of the Little River Sheriff’s Office that were not selected were given a letter via U.S. mail, and a copy of the letter sent was hand-delivered to Mary Baker (deputy tax collector),” Gregory said.

All other applicants not employed by the Sheriff’s Office who were not hired were also sent a letter via U.S. mail, Gregory said.

“I definitely understand the disappointment of not being selected for any position that an applicant has put in for. But the reality is that not every person that applied can be selected due to the limited amount of positions available,” Gregory said.

Gregory takes exception to Russell’s comment that the letter stated, “Thank you for applying, but your services are no longer needed.”

According to a copy of the letter provided by Chief Dispatcher Martha Sue Abney, the review board letter states, “Thank you for your application regarding employment with the Little River County Sheriff’s Office. We have carefully reviewed your application and the following decision has been made: You were referred for the above position but you were not selected.”

“I can only leave to the opinions of the good citizens of Little River County as to why (current chief dispatcher) Martha Sue Abney’s statement and her current employer’s statement were both very conflicting and as to why both would give very different statements,” Gregory said.

Gregory said his goal is to improve law enforcement in Little River County, which he hopes to accomplish by surrounding himself “with personnel that will first and foremost be an asset in the fulfillment of the mission.”

Gregory said he does not expect to be problem-free during his two-year term.

“I absolutely realize that there will always be some individuals that are not going to be happy with day-to-day decisions that must be made. You just can’t please everyone.”